How Rats Make You Sick
Many believe that rats can't make them sick unless they are bitten, scratched, or come into direct contact with rat droppings.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Rats in the home can make you ill even if you never see one face-to-face.
The Most Common Rodent-Born Illness
Hantavirus, or HPS, is the most common disease you'll find when rats and mice are in the home. Breathing in the virus is the most common means of infection.
Symptoms include fatigue and fever. You should watch out for muscle aches in the thighs, hips, back, and shoulders. These symptoms are often, but not always, followed by headaches, dizziness, chills, nausea, and diarrhea.
Eventually, you'll have trouble breathing because your lungs will fill with fluid, which can be fatal: HPS has a mortality rate of 38%. If you're experiencing any of these symptoms, you should get to a doctor ASAP!
Cleaning Up After Rats
After we help you remove rodents from your home, we will typically recommend companies to help you clean up the mess. That's because it's not all that safe for y you to clean up after rats yourself.
If you decide to handle the cleanup on your own, it's imperative to wear a mask and rubber gloves. Spray urine and droppings with a disinfectant. Get them soaking wet so particles can't go airborne, then let them soak for five minutes.
Wipe the area with a paper towel and then go over it with another disinfectant.
Wash your hands after completing the job. Never vacuum up droppings, as vacuuming will put all those particles right into the air.
You'll use a similar process if you find a dead rat. Soak the body with disinfectant or a mixture of bleach and water. Place the body in a plastic bag, seal it, put it in a second bag, close it, and throw it into a trash can. Empty the trash can as soon as possible.
Stay Safe and Get Help Fast
Rats carry up to 26 serious diseases. If you suspect they're in your home, you need to have them removed fast.
Contact Elite Wildlife to get help today.
The Most Common Rodent-Born Illness
Hantavirus, or HPS, is the most common disease you'll find when rats and mice are in the home. Breathing in the virus is the most common means of infection.
Symptoms include fatigue and fever. You should watch out for muscle aches in the thighs, hips, back, and shoulders. These symptoms are often, but not always, followed by headaches, dizziness, chills, nausea, and diarrhea.
Eventually, you'll have trouble breathing because your lungs will fill with fluid, which can be fatal: HPS has a mortality rate of 38%. If you're experiencing any of these symptoms, you should get to a doctor ASAP!
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Can the Right Insulation Stop a Rat Problem?
There are several insulation brands that claim to be rodent-resistant. Both foam insulations and cellulose insulation both say that they are rat-proof, but sadly it isn't so. There is no such thing as an insulation which actively repels or prevents rats.
Even insulation that contains boric acid just can't get the job done. The poison in these insulations just isn't potent enough to actually kill rats...and poisoning a rat population comes with its own problems. Ask anyone who has ever had a dead animal of any kind trapped behind their walls. The smell eventually turns a home unlivable!
The fact is that your attic is an ideal place for rats. It's warm. It's dry. Insulation makes ideal nesting materials.
Decent Insulation Choices
Obviously you've got to insulate your attic with something, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with choosing an insulation that doesn't make rats quite as happy as the pink stuff. They love the pink stuff (fiberglass insulation).
Instead, consider loose-fill cellulose insulation. Thick, dense, clumpy, and dry, it packs small areas tight. Cellulose is made of wood. Rats can certainly chew it, but it's not that useful for them to chew. It does not make for a sturdy, warm nest which means rats tend to ignore it.
If you want an insulation that rats don't particularly like the smell of, hemp insulation works. While it takes a license for Texas growers to plant and harvest industrial hemp, it is legal to build with in our state. Hemp insulation is eco-friendly, effective, and moisture-resistant. The taste is a little bit bitter for them, they don't like the smell, and it's often just more trouble for them than its worth.
We certainly wouldn't dissuade you from choosing an insulation that is less attractive to rats and less likely to be damaged by them. We just want to reiterate that there's no insulation choice you can make that will keep rats out of your attic. For that, other steps need to be taken.
What's Truly Effective at Deterring Rats and Mice?
The first step that's effective is seeing to sanitation around your home. Feed your pets at a specific time and take up their food when they're done. Make sure trash cans around your property are properly sealed off and secured. If you feed birds, use a feeder basket and reduce the amount of food you're using. You're aiming to get just enough food to feed the birds during the day. If any food is left over at night, you're overfilling those feeders.
Clean up "hidden" areas where food tends to congregate too, such as beneath refrigerators or behind stoves.
Keeping your lawn mowed, trimmed, and raked can really help too, since this provides rats with fewer places to hide.
If you already have rodents in your house we need to find and block off all their entry points, then trap them to get the ones that are in your house out of your house for good. If you've been lucky enough to avoid them thus far, getting a pest control specialist to seal up entry points now can keep you lucky in the future.
Get Help from Elite Wildlife
Rats in the attic aren't just a health and safety risk. They're a fire hazard too. When those little teeth start finding their way into exposed wiring your home could be in real trouble.
Recognizing the early warning signs of a rodent problem can be a big help. But you don't have to guess. If you think you might have critters, reach out to Elite Wildlife to get help today.
Everything You Need to Know about Rat Trapping Services in Houston, TX
When you have rats in your house you've got a dozen pressing reasons to get rid of them ASAP.
Hear one or two rats on the roof and you've probably got ten more in your attic and another hundred in your walls. They reproduce with alarming frequency, and attract both other rodents and other predators, like snakes.
Rats are some of the least sanitary animals you can have in your building. They leave droppings everywhere, which spread disease and give your entire home or office an unpleasant smell that's hard to get rid of. They can even start dangerous fires by chewing through your wiring.
Our Houston rat removal/rat exterminator and decontamination services will get rid of your rats for good.
First, we’ll find and block off their access points so they stop getting into the house. Without taking this step no other control methods will be effective. Once this is done, we can turn to the rats inside of your home.
We use humane traps to get rid of your rat problem, removing them safely from your home.
From there it will be time to clean up their droppings. We use safe, non-toxic disinfectants to scrub away their leavings. We also get rid of any nests they’ve built and entirely sanitize attic spaces where they dwell.
The cost will depend on the size of your building and the size of the infestation. We’ve done jobs for as little as $169 and it can range to over $1000. Commercial rat removal services tend to cost the most.
One way you can control the cost of rat removal services is by calling us as quickly as possible. The longer the rats have to breed, the more expensive it becomes to remove them.
Hey, look, we’re biased, but we are also humane, professional, friendly, and cost-effective. But, don’t take our word for it, check out our awesome reviews from happy customers throughout the entire Houston Metro area. Our Mommas taught us not to brag, but we think there’s some pretty good reasons to give our service a whirl.
Call (832) 727-9181 today.
